


Comforting Words

by Name1



Series: Not Quite Canon- a CaraDin collection [2]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Boba Fett (mentioned) - Freeform, Extra Scene, F/M, Fennec (mentioned), Mayfeld (Mentioned), quiet moments, season two, the best romances are based on friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:41:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29053044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Name1/pseuds/Name1
Summary: Din confides in Cara what happened with Mayfeld during the mission to get Moff Gideon's coordinates and she does some damage control to convince him that nothing has really changed--he's just as honorable as he's always been.
Relationships: Din Djarin & Cara Dune, Din Djarin/Cara Dune
Series: Not Quite Canon- a CaraDin collection [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2079822
Comments: 21
Kudos: 93





	Comforting Words

**Author's Note:**

> This is my 50th…..yes 50th……story :O  
> I have no idea how this happened, but here we are :D

All this time later, she still couldn't believe how they became such instant friends--not to mention everything that had transpired since then. She cared about him, of course. She couldn't deny it even in her head any longer. She was screwed and she wasn't even sure when it had happened. Had it been sudden or had it snuck up on her? Probably the latter, she thinks. He and the kid had wormed their way in through the locks and boarded-up walls of her heart and now they were there to stay.

He came to her for assistance two days ago and she jumped to help him with hardly a word of convincing on his part. This wasn't even the first time she'd dropped everything for him, but it wasn't one-sided though--he'd helped her too when she'd needed a hand. This was their thing apparently—always there for each other when they needed it, without talking about the reason behind such blind loyalty. 

What was it about seeing him show up at her door that made her feel like she had to help him at great risk to herself? Maybe it was that he'd come back several times for her. Maybe it was knowing she was on his mind as someone he could trust or wanted by his side. Maybe it was also that the kid had needed her too. Whatever it was, she couldn't turn down Din's request for anything. She meant _something_ to him when she hadn't meant anything to anyone in years and she wouldn't let him down or break his trust for all the credits in the world--not when he probably had a higher opinion of her than anyone alive. They were friends and they worked perfectly in sync, but there was something else she glimpsed sometimes too. What they had also transcended favors and debts. It was the warmth of knowing someone had your back when you needed it and you were never truly alone--the closest thing to family she could remember. That feeling meant something to her; certainly, it was more valuable than the new life she'd built for herself under Greef’s employ. What was a comfy chair, computer terminal, and badge when her friend was in trouble? She cared about him-- _loved_ him, if she was being honest--but she wouldn't go there now. It was complicated and yet when she saw him again everything was suddenly so easy. If only they could talk without reverting to half-truths, teasing jibes, or sarcasm and say what they actually meant, maybe they could actually see where this was going or move it along a little.

................

Cara knew Din had questionable taste in friends ever since he bought her soup when she took him to the ground, but kriffing hell--he really outdid himself this time with the group he'd put together before he made it to Nevarro. 

There was the sniper who was wanted by the ISB..... _Shand_...... and rough as she was around the edges, Cara was surprised at how much she actually liked the other woman. The two of them made a good combined force u on that ridge. The sniper was good at what she did--she could admit that; though she wasn't bad with a rifle herself. Fennec wasn't cocky but knew she was skilled and didn't need to prove it to anyone--a character trait Cara could appreciate after being around so many hot headed showoffs in the war. The other woman also gave credit where credit was due. She didn't need to be the center of attention and followed the changing plan with the patience of someone who'd seen all sort of shit go wrong and was hardly surprised anymore. Maybe she wasn't so bad....

Then there was Boba Fett--Fennec's associate. She had to admit it was weird seeing him beside another Mandalorian besides the Armorer, but it seemed he owed Din some kind of debt so she supposed she could trust him for now. She'd keep her eyes on him though. As soon as the debt was repaid, who knew what would happen and she wouldn't be caught unaware. She'd learned a long time ago not to let her guard down around well-intentioned strangers. Din told her he'd even come across _more_ Mandalorians that only wore helmets in battle, but they weren't here when he needed them so they could fuck off for all she cared. Calling themselves honorable was worthless to her if they didn't show up when they were needed. They could talk shit about bravery and honor all day long but until they put their money where their mouth was Cara couldn't care less if they stayed home.

And last was Mayfeld. He was Imperial trash--or _had_ been--so she had less than zero respect for him, but he was of use to Din so she forced down her instinct to shoot him on site. He'd agreed to their plan to get the coordinates of Moff Gideon's cruiser easy enough, but he was another person in their party she didn't trust as far as she could throw them. He seemed like he wanted to help the kid though--they all had that much in common it seemed. That kid and his fuzzy ears had a remarkable talent for bringing people together. Mayfeld's attitude needed adjustment though and he needed to learn when to shut his mouth-- _something no one had ever said about her before._..... She knew he was just trying to get a rise out of her and while that wasn't going to happen, it was almost amusing watching him try. Watching him startle at seeing Din had been pretty satisfying too. Turns out he blew that whole building straight to hell, which wasn't part of the plan, so maybe he did have a conscience after all. He'd gotten Din out of there alive to be reunited with his armor as well. She'd let him live.....

……………….

She stood next to Din after Mayfeld had disappeared from sight. Just from his body language, she could see something was bothering him, and when they were finally alone she let her smirk fall away.

"Take a walk with me?" he asks her, tilting his helmet toward the woods. At her quick look toward Fett and Shand standing close to the ship he assures her, "they still need to do the final pre-flight checks so we have a few minutes."

They walk maybe fifty feet into the woods, and she turns to face him once the others are out of earshot. 

"What's going on?" she asked mildly, since she didn't know what this was about. Was he going to criticize her for letting that guy go? she wondered. _It seemed like the right thing to do and he went along wi--_

"I just didn't want to say it in front of the others," he explains, cryptically.

She's confused and looks at him puzzled. "Say _what_?"

"I wanted to tell you what happened in there......" 

She heard him swallow and knew it was serious. That, combined with the despondency in his voice got her attention and made her blood run cold. He wasn't just talking about losing the kid, something else had happened. She hoped it wasn't what she feared it was but the sick feeling in her stomach told her it must be bad.

"What do you mean? she asks, without judgement. "What **_did_** happen in there?"

He tells her the rundown of what happened at the terminal and the time spent bare-faced at the table with the Imperial officer. He recalls with almost clinical detachment Mayfeld's declaration he'd never seen his face, which was a lie, but one he was grateful for, nonetheless.

"I don't know who I am now," he finally says as the story wraps up, and he sounds so tired Cara wanted to reach out to touch him. She was positively seething, but it wasn't at the other people for seeing him; it was at his own self-doubt and how helpless she felt standing in front of him. She knew whatever she said now could either bring him back around or cause lasting damage. She doesn't want to add to his trauma, but she knows she's not really the best person for comforting words. _Where was Greef when they actually needed him?_

She has to say something, so she goes for it. "You may not," she tells him, "but _I_ do.......I know who you are Din Djarin. You're still _you_." At her words, he looked away and to the side as if he didn't want to hear it, but she grabbed the sides of his helmet so he had no choice but to look at her. She didn't mean to go for such a physical approach, but he needed to hear this. 

"Maybe you're more _you_ than you ever have been."

"But I'm without honor now," he said sadly.

"Bullshit,” she says, maybe a little too harshly before cooling her temper. "I'm not going to belittle your beliefs, but that's bullshit," she tries to convince him. "I _know_ you're just as honorable as you were before you went in there." 

She lets her hands drop when he keeps staring at her without looking down. _He's listening, she thinks_. At least he's still listening to her so she can still try to salvage this. "You sacrificed everything for that kid and that makes you a good father, that's all," she explains, trying to force the affection behind her words into him. "Whatever the aftermath or backlash is, we'll deal with it together," she tells him, confidently. "When you see his grumpy sweet green face again you won't care what anyone else says."

He nods as if the words made their way in, but when he still appears distant, she tries to find a better approach. She's not one people typically go to for comfort though and she's more than a little rusty. 

"Let me ask you this.....would you do it again?"

"Yes........a hundred times if I had to," he said without pause. He didn't even have to think about it. She actually felt the corner of her eyes moisten at the unconditional love she heard in his voice. "Then you're the best Mando I've ever met."

"I'm the only Mando you--"

"That's not true," she reminds him. "Boba counts as half as one and the Armor is a Mandalorian and a half. That's a total of two others.

"That's true," he says, and it almost sounds like a wet laugh. "For being so rare, you've wandered into quite a few." The ones he'd met recently weren't all that impressive if he was honest. They were all about political ambition and less about family and living honorably. 

"You set the bar pretty damn high though," she states.

He knew she was just saying it to make him feel better, but he had to admit it was kind of working. He tried to explain his hang-ups.

"Growing up, I thought some of the rhetoric was just to scare us, you know?” he said wistfully. “The thought of your whole life changing and suddenly being exiled was enough to keep scared orphans on the straight and narrow. When I became an adult, I followed the Way because I chose to, not because I was scared not to." He's glad he can get this off his chest with her. If it was all stuck inside him, he felt like he'd be devoured from the inside out. "I do feel different though," he admits, "just like they always said. That much was true." The only good part about him meeting the other clan of Mandos when he did, was that maybe he could see himself as just as much a 'real' Mandalorian as they were. It turns out they were more in line with what General Mandalorians practiced and believed than his small clan was anyway. When he told Cara about it earlier, she had agreed they could both live the 'right' way without invalidating the other. Honor wasn't something you either had or lost, she had said; it was a series of choices and a path you walked while you lived your life. 

"I can't imagine what this is like for you," she says, as gently as she can manage, "but know _this_ \--you still live by every principle you did a few hours ago."

"Do I?" he asks, with a tilt of his helmet she recognizes as his challenging look.

She's had enough of the gentle technique. "For kriff's sake!" she exclaims right in his face, clearly angry-- with who, she's not sure-- with everyone who isn't this selfless and conflicted man in front of her. "You removed your helmet for a moment to save a baby's life! If the people you grew up with can't see that action as anything other than a pure act of love or if they see it as shameful, then fuck them!"

He laughed at the righteous anger in her voice and all over her face. She was mad on his behalf and he had to admit she could be terrifying sometimes. He'd never let anyone disrespect his Creed but he knew she spoke the truth. The life of a child was worth a hundred times a person's beliefs. He felt more honor in trying to save him than he had ever been able to scrounge up in the last 20 years collectively. Saving the kid the first time had changed everything that he believed; saving him _again_ helped his priorities fall into place. The kid meant everything to him. Honor, ideals, words......they were _nothing_ compared to those dark eyes and small hands that reached out to him. He was honorable.....his love and sacrifice for the kid proved that. _Damnit, Cara.....she was always right._

"Your delivery needs work," he tells her, "but I get what you're saying."

"And what am I saying then?" she asks, challenging him to say it back to her. 

"I'm still me."

"You're still Din," she says simply. "You're still brave and honorable. You're the same skilled fighter and doting dad you were four hours ago. You're still a Mandalorian, no matter what. A piece of metal doesn't give you honor--you find that in yourself. I know it's still there. I can feel it."

He nodded. The moment was heavy, but he couldn't manage to come up with a joke. Luckily, Cara had him covered.

"Oh, and you're still an idiot. How could I forget the most important one?"

He finally huffed a laugh. He couldn't help it, it just came out of him. It was a talent she alone had.

She finally relaxed a little. "Loving that kid changed you and led you to make a split-second decision, but it's not a bad thing." 

"You really think so?" he asked her. "You're not just saying that?"

She elbowed him. "You think I say shit I don't mean?"

"No, of course not." 

She reaches out to take his hand and he holds onto her fingers like a lifeline. "You trust me?" she asks, watching him watch their joined hands.

"You know I do," he replies, looking back up to her face. He'd trusted her with his son and his armor and his secrets and his ...well,... everything. 

She puts on her most honest and open face. "Look, I'd tell you if I thought you'd lost your way or you were going down a path you'd regret," she assures him. "You're **_not_**. I know it means jack shit in the grand scheme of things, but I'm proud of you. You're much braver than I am. I would have snapped in there I'm sure."

"I don't know about that," he teases her, finally feeling light enough to do so. "You would have snapped before you made it in the front door."

She laughs. "Oh, you've got jokes now?" Din can't help but smile under his helmet. Everything still hurt, but it felt much better to be laughing together again.

"I was just desperate," he tells her simply, "there wasn't time to think, I just had to act."

"I'm desperate to get him back too," she tells him, so he knows he's not alone in this--this is her fight too. "I'm desperate for _you_ to get him back. I'm sure I'll end up doing something rash when the moment calls for it."

"I wondered if I should even put it back on," he says, referring to his prized possession, "but I didn't even think about it--it just went back on."

She was glad he put it back on so he didn’t have any more regrets. Seeing his face when he was so upset would have made this much harder. "You should do what you're comfortable with," she reassures him. "You're still a Mandalorian and you should wear the helmet if that's what makes you happy and keeps you safe for the fight that's coming up." They both knew he’d need every bit of armor and weapons he had to get the kid back. "You're still one of them and I'll fight anybody who says differently," she vows. He could imagine it and the visual made him smile. He could see her fighting beskar-clad clan members for his honor. She'd do it too.....and with a smile on her face.

"You have more honor in your little finger than any one of them who would choose to keep their face covered over saving a child from a terrible fate."

The fact that he could open up to her like this was still surprising to him; that he could admit his flaws and own up to his uncertainty was entirely new. He'd never met anyone like her, but she'd become the most important person to him without even trying. She believed in him when he didn't believe in himself and she was so much more than his friend by now. 

"You're right," he says. "You're always right."

"Fuck anyone who says you lost your honor back there. You're saving his life," she emphasized again. "Anyone who would have done it differently is a _coward_ and not fit to call themselves a parent."

"Thank you, Cara.....really." He wasn't sure how he could repay her for being who he needed and saying what he needed to hear in his moment of weakness. He owed her so much.

"Your helmet wasn't removed by an enemy, Din. It was done out of love. You made the right choice and I'll tell you as many times as you need to hear it to get through your thick skull."

She had somehow done the impossible and made today feel like it wasn't a big deal--like he had actually done the right thing and made the only real choice. He needed her support but also needed her to drag him back when he wasn't sure he wanted to be dragged back. Her opinion mattered more to him than anyone, so if she still thought he was honorable, then maybe he was. Cara didn't bullshit him and she wore her heart on her sleeve, despite the strong and unflinching persona covering the rest of her. She didn't think any less of him after today, he just knew it. He still saw that look in her eyes that made him feel warm in a way that followed him everywhere now. 

"I'll keep it on then," he decides.

"Good. You can keep trying to convince me you're handsome under there."

"But I am...."

She laughs at his sudden cocky turnaround. "Shut up. I'll believe it when I see it, which will be _never_."

"One day you will. I swear," he says. "Thank you for not letting me make any stupid decisions before I get a level head." When the day came for him to take it off for himself, she'd be the first one he wanted to look at. 

"The stupid decisions are all mine anyway,” she claims greedily. “Hands off, Djarin."

The look in her eyes and the soft smile on her face was too much in his state right now. His emotions were all swimming right at the surface. The words formed together in his mind all on their own. 

_"I love you, Cara."_

He heard it in his mind so clearly he was terrified he actually said it out loud--that it was so simple and so obvious that he'd simply forgotten his natural filter in place to keep those words from forming and ruining everything. The perfectly calm look on her face was the only proof he hadn't just blurted those words aloud. Best case, it would complicate everything. Worst case, it'd spook her just when they were finally admitting there was something between them beyond strictly friendship. He'd refused to let that thought make itself heard even in his head, but it just slipped through and it felt right. He did love her—Cara, with all of her wonderful traits that stood out to him. She always pointed out the opposite when anyone tried to compliment her-- her bullheadedness, her bluntness, her brutal honesty, her rashness--but they were all things that drew him to her just as much. 

A stranger would never believe him, but she was easily the most kind, generous, and selfless person he'd ever met. Considering he'd met her when she'd beaten him into the dirt he could honestly say her outer appearance had concealed everything well.....until he got to know her, that is. There was a completely other person under her armor and bite and he felt lucky to be near her to see that side of her unfurl. 

Losing the kid had been the worst day of his life but he felt a glimmer of hope with Cara by his side slapping some sense back into him. He didn't think things could get any worse, but if he lost her too on this foolhardy mission she followed him into.....how could he deal with that blow, not to mention the guilt of asking her to come along? The only reason he survived losing the kid was because Cara had been there to pick up the pieces and get his head back in the game. Who would save him from himself if his rock was gone? Who would be his _Cara_ if he lost Cara? Not just that, but they were so close....... to _something....._ and if he lost her now in this fight they might never even get a chance to see what else they could be in the years to come. Every chance he got to be near her was better than the time before, but it was hard not trying for more, especially when she smiled at him like **_that_**. Maybe when this was over, they'd have some time just them without the universe going to shit. It could be great....they just had to make it out of this alive. 

He wouldn't tolerate these morbid thoughts and what-ifs when there was a job to do. He had a good, _if not unlikely_ , team that would help him get the kid back. Boba, Fennec and Cara were a force to be reckoned with, but there were only four of them and they could only split into two teams of two. He hated to admit it, but he might even consider cashing in a favor from Bo-Katan to get a few more guns in the fight. 

"I don't think they'll fly off without us," she tells him. "Let's go de-stress. You want to spar?"

He knew that excited tone. He knew he was in for it, but he welcomed the distraction. "Yeah sure."

"Without the vambraces though," she declares. "You gotta get better at blocking in case you lose that protective layer. I saw how bruised your forearms were after those pirates, so let's work on that."

"Why do I think I’m going to be even more bruised when we're done?" he asks, warily.

"Because you _will be_ ," she says, exuding confidence. "I won't go easy on you."

"I wouldn't expect anything less." Cara never let him be anything other than the best he could be. 

She'd never let him win for the sake of winning and it kept him sharp. She wouldn't let him wallow either or beat himself up with what-ifs. She was a woman of action--more inclined to fight his demons _for_ him instead of letting him battle them himself. He was so glad she was here. _What, for the hundredth time?_

He rolls his shoulders, more than happy for the distraction and moment of normalcy. "Okay, Dune. Get ready to get your ass kicked."

She laughed and he couldn't look away from her beautiful face that was here only for him. He watched as she moved one foot back to get into a better stance. "Come on Din, let's see it."

................

**Author's Note:**

> I'd love to hear from you :)


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